Beginner Fountain Pens – Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen Review
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The Pilot Preppy in Blue Black. Another beginner fountain pen with some additional benefits.
As I mentioned in my post earlier this week, I am doing a few reviews this week on some of the more inexpensive or beginner fountain pens that I have used because I have seen many questions and comments from people who are skeptical or reluctant to try a fountain pen because they believe they will be too expensive, too messy, or just too difficult to write with. Hopefully my posts this week will help people who are curious about fountain pens to find something that they will want to try. I know from personal experience that finding a beginner fountain pen and getting started with it can be a little confusing and even a little intimidating.
The Platinum Preppy uncapped and in writing position.
The 2nd option for a beginner fountain pen that I think is good to get some experience with is the Platinum Preppy. This pen is just about the same price as the previously reviewed Pilot Varsity, however you get a little more feel for a regular fountain pen with it, because instead of just being a disposable with a sealed ink tank, they come with one cartridge of ink that you can replace down the road. You can find this fountain pen at JetPens.com for $3.00 and it comes in multiple colors, and as you can see from the link, they also offer the replacement cartridges for $1.50 for a pack of 2. Having the opportunity to change the cartridge in a fountain pen is something that I feel that many non-fountain pen users are a little hesitant about, and I think it is a good exercise in helping to understand that the cartridges are pretty clean and really dont make a mess when changing or using them. This is one of those myths about fountain pens that can sometimes make beginners a bit reluctant to start using them.
The Platinum Preppy taken apart to show the nib and the cartridge.
The above picture shows the pen deconstructed so you can see the nib on the left, and the cartridge on the right. Its pretty simple, you just unscrew the section which contains the nib, and as you slip the cartridge into the nib section, it punctures it and gets the ink flowing. Once past the initial loading of the ink cartridge, you can start to get a feel for the flexibility that a fountain pen can give you with the different types and colors of inks that are available, even though this particular one only takes the Platinum brand refills.
The Platinum Preppy writing sample in a Mead 5 star notebook.
With the functional differences between the Pilot Varsity and the Platinum Preppy now evident, you can take a look at the writing sample with this pen. The Platinum Preppy is a pretty close match when it comes to the smooth writing experience and solid line that this pen puts down. I think the only real difference is that the line is just a bit finer as compared to the Pilot Varsity. The only other major difference between these fountain pens is that the Platinum Preppy seems to have a higher quality build and design to it. It has a very strong clear plastic body and a spring loaded cap that most likely will be better for keeping the ink from evaporating out of the pen. The nice thing about the clear plastic body is that it allows you to see the amount of ink left, unlike the Varsity.
I think it is important to note that there are plenty of other beginner fountain pens out there that offer similar functionality, quality, and value, however these are just some that I happen to have had good experiences with and are representative of the many others available. The next and last beginner fountain pen that I will review for this short series will be one that offers the most flexibility in the ink delivery methods and the writing experience, so stay tuned for that later this week.
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I think both of the plastic pens you’ve recommended have their place (I’ve owned both) but ultimately they don’t give you a taste of the satisfying experience of writing with a nice fountain pen. I actually prefer the Varsity – my Preppy broke when I screwed it back together after replacing the cartridge – perhaps plastic is not compatible with disassembling and reassembling.
If I were to suggest a starter I would send people to Jetpens for an Ohto Tasche. $15, incredibly compact, cartridge-compatible, and writes like a dream. If $15 is out of their starter price range, your suggestions are fine, but they won’t give the pleasure of a good pen, which is the whole point of owning a fountain pen, IMHO. I think the Tasche out-writes pens that cost 5-10 times as much – when you “move up” to a Waterman, Mont Blanc, etc. you’ll probably be disappointed that it’s not as fun to write with as the Tasche!
I’m curious about #3 in your list.
(The Tasche is available here. I have no connection to either Ohto or Jetpens, btw. In fact, I got my Tasche at the Kinokuniya store in San Francisco’s Japantown)
http://www.jetpens.com/index.php/cPath/214_117
@OSG What a coincidence! I had to ask PenAddict the other day how to get the ink flowing with this pen. I was worried I had a dud. In case a beginner fountain pen user has the same problem, PA said to just doodle, doodle, doodle, for a couple of minutes until the ink starts flowing. So far, I like this pen much better than the Varsity. I’m only hoping that the purple refill cartridges I got for this are a lighter shade than the Varsity purple. That one is very close to a purple-black.
@Cranky I haven’t been to the Kinokuniya store in years! Last time I was in SF was in 2005, I think. The fact that that store is there, plus the Timbuk2 store, makes me very jealous of you.
Great review!
The Preppy also takes Platinum converters (though it doesn’t hold much ink), if beginners don’t want to refill empty cartridges yet would like to move up to bottled ink. I have one (with a highlighter tip) currently loaded with Noodler’s St. Patty’s Eire in a converter, and it seems to be working okay. Unfortunately, the converter costs more than the pen itself! 
I know nothing about fountain pens, so this may be a stupid question. In your writing sample the ink seems to be darker at the top of the page and gets lighter as you move down the page. Is this normal?
I like those pens, great review!
@Cranky – I know what you are saying about the writing experience itself. When I started with my Varsity, I just assumed the writing experience would be better, I was more interested in the “messy” factor. Not to say that everyone had the same concerns that I did, but Im just writing from my experience here, I appreciate you sharing your experience with the two pens though because clearly I am just a sample size of one, which is never going to be statistically accurate.
I’ve looked at the Tasche before, but never had a chance to try one.
@Cat – I did notice that with mine as well, it took a minute to get the ink flowing…I probably should have mentioned that.
@kookychick – thanks for that bit of info, I didnt know that there were converters for the Platinum.
@pat – absolutely not a stupid question, and I didnt even notice this until you pointed it out…very observant. I did a quick test and rewrote everything exactly the same again, and it appears that you are correct. I think this is just an issue with this pen, I went back and looked at some of my notes that I’ve taken for work and I dont see it happening there at all, and I have some pretty long writing sessions. Thanks for pointing this out.
@Speedmaster – always nice to have you stop by and comment, and I appreciate the compliment. Anyone who has not seen Speedmaster’s blog should check it out at http://amateureconblog.blogspot.com/ always full of some very interesting reading
@Cat: Sadly I don’t live in SF anymore but J-town (spending too much at Kinokuniya and having a bubble tea) are high on my list every time I return.
@OSG: Don’t get me wrong, I think the Varsity and Preppy are both significant improvements over a cheap eBay fountain pen from China or a discounted Shaeffer scratcher – at a minimum the Varsity and Preppy will *work*. From that perspective I like your recommendations. I think some potential converts can be frustrated by non-working cheap pens and never want to spend more because they assume all fountain pens are frustrating! At the same time, someone with a Varsity might say, “eh, I’d rather stick with a uni-ball roller” and never really get it.
As for Ohto pens, they claim to be “iridium tipped” although I don’t know if that’s true ( see http://www.kamakurapens.com/IridiumKiss.html for an interesting history about this.) However they are made, they write wonderfully.
I love my platinum preppies! I have converted mine to using liquid ink using the directions on jetpens.com. I can write forever!!!! I have about 5 filled with different colors and would like to order some mroe when the stock refills. I did have one that the cap cracked on, but haven’t had problems with the others.